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My grandpa and I have been hunting and fishing together since before I could hunt for my own. He has been teaching me everything he knows since I could remember. He has taught me how to shoot rifles ,pistols, and shotguns. Being a former Army sniper, my grandpa has taught me to conserve my ammo, only shoot when it is needed. And I have picked up his bad habits so to speak lol. He made me practice each shooting stance before teaching me the next one. He started me and my brothers out on prone, made sense since it is the most beneficial way to shoot, it is the most stable form to practice, then kneeling, sitting, and then to standing. Prone shooting has got to be one of my favorite shooting positions. Later on in life, he and I were on our way home from a rather long day of hunting. He asked me which position did I like best with my rifle(7mm Rem Mag) and I had to think about that one. I said "prone, why?" He replied " Each shooting position I have taught has a purpose beyond just hunting, I trained you to shoot like a 101st airborne sniper, and how to defend you family and your self from a very long distance, as well as find the best possible position to make a clean kill on a deer or elk."

Grandpa always told me to take my time when making a kill, "when the adrenaline is pumping, all sense of time, feel and general sound vanish because you are so concentrated on that one moment, that very instant. The gun will go off, the animal is dead before it hits the ground. Even when it is at a full dead run, you still have enough time to make a clean, humane kill" Boy was he right on this one. I am unaware of the trigger being squeezed every so gently, I get so focused on just that one moment, my eye is fixed on the point of impact that by the time the gun goes off, a fresh round is put into the chamber on impulse. I am so amazed by it all. Im in this daze, it takes what feels like an eternity to shake off, and I just stand there in awe.
I think the hardest thing to do is mastering your breathing. I like to go prone with a 22 and try to time my shots with my heart beat, some thing my grandfather has taught me. Taking a cleansing breath, feeling your heart beating, mentally counting with each beat between shots. Thump...1....thump....2...fire... It can be difficult for me to slow my heart rate down

I will never forget the lessons he has taught me, Shooting, hunting, camping, and even disaster/survival skills. He was a foreman on a cattle ranch after his military career all of his life and has learned how to survive on very little. He has been my hunting partner all of my life and I will be his for the rest of his life.
 
My favorite hunting partner was my Dad. He grew up during the Great Depression in Topeka, KS. When he could scrape together enough money to buy a box of .22 LR ammo, he would go out and hunt rabbits. Back then that was the only meat they had some weeks. I have an old B&W picture of him and his best buddy at the back of an old Ford sedan with a bushel basket full of rabbits they had shot!

He was the best natural wing shot I have ever seen. Even when he had cataracts before he got operated on we would go out shooting clay birds and he could just catch a glimpse of the bird, it's speed, and direction of travel. He would take his Model 12 Winchester, track the expected flight of the bird and pull the trigger. 9 times out of 10 he hit it. He would even ask us, "Did I hit it?", to which my brother and I would reply, "Yeah Dad, you did.".

My dad was also military and served in the Pacific theater during WWII. I still have a picture of him in his old British style campaign hat that he traded an Aussie a case of beer for! :s0114:
 
I have been hunting with the same small group of guys for 25 years or so. a lot of times that is the only time of year we see each other as we are scattered around the state. the first few hours in camp are some of the best times of the whole year. I hunted with my dad until his eyesight started going bad and he quit hunting. those were times I will never forget. there is just something special about a good hunting pard.
 
My Father up until about 10 years ago.

He is also WWII. Actually Pre WWII. He joined the Marines in 37' got out in 47'. Amphibious tractor 4th Marines. He is still living, but doesn't hunt any longer, due to his age. He never missed an animal he had in his sights, and always just one shot. He trained me to do the same, and I trained my children the same way he trained me. My Son and my Daughter are Both my best hunting partners now. I do Cherish the times we spend together.


Stay Safe.
 
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Holly! she has NEVER flaked out on me. She is always ready to go, when I am, & NEVER complains about anything!
The down side is she never helps pay for fuel, & never wants to help pack the animal out! :s0112:
 
It was my Pop {step father}. He was the youngest of 5 children. After his big brother was murdered and his father got tuberculosis, Pop quit grade school to go to work and he fed the family by hunting and farming. He seemed to know where all the animals were and I don't remember him ever missing a shot. Unfortunately, he wasn't very articulate so his shooting instruction amounted to ",,, just look down the sights and shoot it."

We always had a few hunting dogs but Queenie was the most fun to hunt over. She had no definable breed characteristics but was the undisputed leader of the pack and would retrieve everything we shot. Dead or mildly wounded...
 
My stepfather, what a great guy who taught me much more than just hunting and shooting. Robert taught me how to be a man, husband and a good father to my children. Why is it all the great guys pass on way too soon?
 
Good Friend of mine. Him and I did a lot of shooting together. Even though he is 3 or 4 hours drive away now, he still is the guy I prefer to go shooting with.

I've had people offer to go shooting with me since he moved, but I usually give a non-committal answer. It takes the right person to be standing behind you as you do IDPA drills, or spot you at 600 yards. Or basically stand behind you with a load firearm. It is funny how many people don't understand that and don't understand the trust.

M
 
Like many of you, my father is my favorite (current) hunting partner. My uncle would be a close second. My dad had a very busy IT job when I was younger and was not able to take us, my uncle would go no matter what and let us come with him. Hopefully my kids will be my next set of favorite hunting partners. I better invest in a chest freezer if all four of my kids want to hunt as much as I do.
 
I live for the time of year when I get to take my son and daughter and neices and nephew out hunting, ages ranging from too small to hold a shotgun to almost getting too old to be calling them a kid anymore. I guess it stems from not having a father who was physically capable and who did not live long enough to teach me to hunt. I love watching my son pluck chanterelles and the way he concentrates when he cuts the base off with his pocket knife. Or watching as he just about dives into puddles after salamanders, teaching them how to eat a stinging nettle, and just listening to their thoughts and questions. Watching my young daughter squeel in delight as we go to fetch a grouse.
I've had two brother-in-laws pass away at way too young of an age, leaving behind kids who lost their a huge part of their childhood at too young of an age. I feel a great responsiblity and it is in a way an honor to teach them what their father would have. Not knowing when whether to cry or laugh when my neice corrects me by telling me her father would have done it this way. Laughing at my nephew who thinks every squirrel or pine cone dropping is either a 4 point buck or a cougar about to pounce on us. Or watching my neices carry a rifle or shoot a shotgun when it is definately not something that most girls in their area do. Singing stupid songs made up on the spot and waiting for them to make up the next verse.
I have yet to bag a big game animal with one of the kids along. Usually we're making too much noise and having too much fun to bother with hunting.
 

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